13 (54)

The little girl quickly took Mark Jay’s horse and entered the stable, and Mark Jay took Rose Christina with him and pushed open the wooden door. Their bodies, frozen by the chilly weather outside, thawed like melting snow in the warm air inside the inn. The innkeeper seemed to know Mark Jay’s identity and greeted him politely. Mark Jay lightly returned the greeting and asked for one more room.

“How long will you be staying?”

“We’ll leave at dawn. As soon as the rain lets up a little. A simple dinner, one barrel of ale. The woman looks like she needs a bath. Heat some bathwater as well, and prepare enough food for two people, since we’re planning to go straight to the capital.”

“Understood.”

The old innkeeper glanced at the woman several times and began moving busily. She still had her hood pulled down deeply, her clothes were covered in mud because she had fallen from her horse, and water was dripping from her after being soaked in the rain just moments ago. Mark Jay went up to the second floor, and she followed silently as well.

“I’ll let you know as soon as everything is ready.”

The innkeeper said that from behind, and Mark Jay entered the room where he and Rose Christina would stay for a short while. One wooden table. One clean bed. There was no chipped wooden furniture here and there, and overall, for an inn, it was a clean room. Mark Jay brought over a chair, placed it in front of her, and suggested that she sit. She sat down somewhat wearily, and Mark Jay, after leaning his bow against the wall, went downstairs for a moment and returned with two cups of warm water.

It was not simply water, but water made by boiling pig bones, perfect for filling the stomach and raising body temperature on a cold day like this.

“Thank you. You’re kind.”

“I’m doing this because you’re an important person. More importantly, you need to tell me the general story.”

“Yes. But more importantly, can we leave right now?”

“That’s impossible. It’s still some distance to the capital. I’m fine, but as a woman, you need to rest, even if only briefly. Judging by your posture, you didn’t seem used to riding horses.”

“You noticed. Yes. I learned horseback riding, but I didn’t enjoy it.”

She sipped from the cup with a slurp, set it down on the table, and removed her wet hood. Her long, flowing blond hair was revealed. Her vivid eyes looked even brighter than when he had seen them earlier. The line of her mouth drawn over her subtle expression made it hard to tell whether she was smiling or expressionless. Perhaps noticing Mark Jay’s gaze on her red lips, she gave a short cough and continued speaking.

“I ran away. My father’s territory is soaked in madness right now.”

“You mean Duke Rose Christopher.”

“Yes. In the end, Father impaled his retainers on iron stakes.”

“Iron stakes… They must have committed treason.”

“No. They gave loyal advice. They told him to distance himself from the black mage.”

“Black mage…”

“I’d like to tell the king the details directly. At present, I think he is the only one who can resolve this matter.”

“Shouldn’t you be heading to Ruderwin?”

“There’s no one in Ruderwin who can stand against my father. If he’s left as he is, I can’t imagine what Father will do. This is only the beginning. If we miss the timing, not only Ruderwin but even the Eron Duchy will become hell.”

By this point, her identity and the reason she had come out roughly fit together. The reason Mark Jay had received orders from Louis was also because the things Marquis Vesk had been doing were quite bizarre. There was no one besides Mark Jay who could safely obtain more detailed information than anyone else about what kind of person Duke Rose Christopher was and what was happening around that area.

The door creaked open, and the innkeeper poked his head in slightly and spoke inside.

“The room is ready.”

“Yes. I’ll be there soon. More importantly, you… what is your name?”

“Ranger. Mark Jay.”

“Mark Jay. I seem to remember you saying earlier that you were Lord Louis’s loyal retainer.”

Loyal retainer. That was probably true as well. Mark Jay was truly giving his loyalty to Louis. Since he had been incorporated from an enemy force, Louis might not think so, but Mark Jay wanted to enter Louis’s inner circle. When he followed Boarne Gregory, it had been natural to serve him because he was the man his father had served. But Louis was different. Mark Jay spoke in a slightly unconfident voice.

“That is correct. I am carrying out his order alone.”

“Then you must know more about him than anyone else. Please tell me about Lord Louis.”

“……….”

Mark Jay fell silent. The rain continued to batter the window, the innkeeper held his breath with a face that secretly looked forward to what Mark Jay would say, and Rose Christina stared fixedly at Mark Jay. Mark Jay, who had been standing with his arms crossed, uncrossed them for the first time and said,

“Whatever someone like me says has no value. Whatever you imagine, you will see something beyond it.”

“………”

“The first time I saw him was on the battlefield. The feeling I had then is still carved into my heart.”

“……. And… what was it?”

“Mars.”

“………..Thank you for your answer.”

She smiled refreshingly, rose from her seat, and went out the door. After entering the room assigned by the innkeeper, she had a simple meal and washed her body in hot water. Then six hours later. Deep at dawn. Mark Jay and Rose Christina left the inn. In front, the innkeeper and the girl each held one horse. The rain was still falling, but it was not a downpour, and after each of them mounted their horses, they raced down the road like arrows.

Iris Jay entertained Louis for a few more days. Louis found this slightly unfamiliar feeling fresh. Originally, he had not really thought about doing it with a woman tied up, but since her background was so dangerous, he had no choice but to bind her tightly every time they did it. That was only natural, since she too was a skilled person with over 100 mana.

Their plan was not particularly strange. If there was a problem, it was simply that Louis had grown stronger than before, and Mihoff, who could toy with an opponent possessing the same amount of mana, was his guard. Today as well, Iris Jay was serving Louis. Her arms were bound tightly, and she was acting as Louis’s attendant without wearing anything.

A single short cloth was all she wore. Her smooth legs had a few scars carved into them, but they were long and shapely, and above them, there was nothing. The cloth was rather short, barely hanging over her hips, so even when she walked, the area below was precariously visible. Anyone who knew her usual personality would be dumbfounded by the situation. She was a tomboy famous for making sure any man who came at her got revenge taken on him by being turned into a eunuch.

However, there was probably no one enjoying this situation as much as Iris Jay was right now. Even Louis had not noticed. She was very faithfully carrying out the role of Louis’s sex slave. She was even researching ways to stimulate Louis every day. This outfit, too, was not something Louis had specifically ordered, but something she had naturally maintained while gauging his reaction.

Naturally, Louis said nothing about it. He had kept professional sex slaves before and was not particularly passive about sex, but decisively, his mind was filled with something else. Rose Christopher. The information about him was unusual. That was why Louis had independently dispatched Mark Jay.

“Ugh…”

A sensual moan burst out. On the huge bed, three women were entangled. One was the bound Iris Jay. The ones who were devoting themselves to her as if honey had been smeared on her were two of the three sex slaves Louis kept. Their names were Lucia and Lei. They were women he was attached to because they were slaves who had survived when the assassins had massacred the rest.

The one tormenting Iris Jay from the left was Lucia. Lucia was short and thin. Even so, her overall balance was the best, so in terms of appearance, she looked the best among the three. In addition, with her doll-like features, she was also a beauty not often seen. The blue-haired woman positioned slightly lower on the far left was Lei. Her abundant hair swayed each time she moved. The scene these three created was truly worth seeing.

The moans grew increasingly intense, but then a minister knocked on the door. Louis told the three of them to put on clothes and then turned around. After some time passed and he permitted him to enter, one minister barely came inside and said,

“Mark Jay has returned.”

“Hm? That’s too fast.”

“He says he met a special person on the way. More precisely, that person wishes to meet Your Highness.”

“……..”

“She claims to be the daughter of Duke Rose Christopher.”

“………..His daughter…?”

Louis tilted his head and then said to the minister,

“Tell her to enter.”

“Yes.”

As the minister turned his back, Louis spoke to Iris Jay, who was suppressing her excited mood.

“Did he have a daughter?”

“Yes. He does. Two daughters and one son.”

“Have you seen her?”

“I have seen the eldest, Christina.”

“Christina…?”

“Yes. She’s famous.”

While the three of them hurriedly changed into uniforms, Mark Jay and Rose Christina came up to the room where Louis was. Christina was dying of curiosity about what kind of person Louis, who possessed countless modifiers, really was. Decisively, what Mark Jay had said had been significant.

‘A person can be Mars. That’s impossible. It makes no sense.’

She herself had a certain attachment to the god of war, enough that she occasionally served the god Mars. She had roughly heard about the war. But such things were bound to be mixed with rumors. More importantly, because she had heard too little and had been forced to remain shut inside the castle, Christina had not been able to properly judge Louis.

Minister Richard saw Mark Jay, and the two exchanged a brief conversation. A royal guard checked whether Christina had any weapons and then signaled for them to enter. The two came inside. Louis turned his body toward them. Perhaps because both had ridden roughly, their clothes were wet and dusty.

“We greet Your Highness.”

The two knelt before Louis and spoke in unison. Under her hood, her long blond hair flowed down, and she was a confident beauty with the tip of her nose raised subtly. Louis’s first impression of her was very good. Her blue eyes curved in surprise when they looked at Louis.

Christina was seriously shocked when she saw Louis. She had never met a man this likable. His stable posture meant he had trained, and it meant the sword at his waist was not merely for show. Above all, the subtly tingling energy coming from him told her that he was a swordsman of an incredible level.

‘Above Father.’

She secretly swallowed.

‘Amazing. He wasn’t simply a king.’

What Mark Jay had told her. She now seemed to understand why he had told her to see and judge with her own eyes.

“What is your name?”

“I am Rose Christina. Duke Rose Christopher is my father.”

Louis glanced to the side, and as if she had been waiting, Iris Jay nodded. The story that she was his daughter. Louis thought things were unfolding interestingly. The reason she had come here did not look like something as simple as running away from home. Sure enough, what she said next surprised Louis.

“I wish to cooperate with the king. Please occupy the territory my father possesses.”